Serenity
#49 in my movie challenge for the year, Serenity, written and directed by Joss Whedon, was a movie that I got to see IN a movie theater and WITH my husband! A friend watched Drake while we went out to celebrate our anniversary with dinner and a movie. We were reminded that trying to squeeze in dinner and a movie is a challenge, and one that usually makes both events a little less enjoyable. This was true even before we had a child. The timing of movies is such that unless we can make an earlyish show and go to dinner afterward, we have to rush through dinner and off to the movie. Doing one or the other generally ensures that the experience can be savored at a more leisurely pace.
I was unable to make a reservation at my first choice of restaurant, and they had no walk-in tables or room at the bar when we arrived just after 6 p.m. We went across the street to the restaurant we used to frequent when we lived downtown, and were effusively greeted by our favorite waiter. We shared a savory wild mushroom and pistachio pate, served with cornichons, spicy mustard, cranberry chutney and toast. Then I had the sozai plate, a savory mixture of organic brown rice, natto miso, beans, steamed broccoli, arame sea vegetable, marinated tofu, daikon pickle, red cabbage salad and baked yams. G. Grod opted for the chicken with mole verde sauce and salad with prickly pear dressing. I hoped to try the cardamom and something rice pudding that I heard the server mention at an adjacent table, but in order to make our movie, we had to skip dessert.
But back to the movie. Serenity was good fun. It is both a continuation of Whedon’s cancelled television series Firefly, as well as a stand-alone ship-based sci-fi movie. Serenity is a sci-fi B movie at its zenith, with good effects, good production, and good writing. I think one would err, though, to consider it as an A movie, and that’s why I think some of the reviews have been middling. This is a movie that is too good for TV, but still solidly good enough for the movies, though it’s not high art. It’s swashbuckling entertainment, and worth seeing on the big screen.